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CNN Live At Daybreak

Thousands Return To Volcano Threatened Goma Rather Than Be Refugees

Aired January 21, 2002 - 05:22   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Despite the molten lava still pouring from that volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo, thousands are returning home.

CNN's Catherine Bond has been on the scene in Goma near the Rwandan border and she explains why so many are willing to risk their lives to return home rather than become refugees in Rwanda.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CATHERINE BOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A stampede of people heading home in secondhand shoes or rubber sandals over a river of lava that's still hot. People, who only a few days ago had to flee a massive volcanic eruption near the Congolese city of Goma, now determined to go back, carrying trunks, suitcases, bundles, mattresses, mats, roofing materials and their children.

(on camera): This constant stream of people coming back into Goma illustrates what they've been repeating to us, that whatever the risks here they'd rather take them than become refugees.

(voice-over): When the volcano erupted, tens of thousands of Congolese crossed into Rwanda, where they tell us local people didn't help them. "We asked them for just one biscuit for the children to eat. Nothing," says Bahati (ph). "Just one cup of water for the children. Nothing. They wanted us to die. When we saw the sky clearing, we said we may as well go and die at home."

From morning onward, thousands of families made their way on foot along the main avenue into Goma from the border with Rwanda. "Over there, we suffered a lot," says Francoise. "There's no water. Food prices have rocketed and they won't even accept our money."

They've come back to a city split in two, largely without power and without water, as well, carrying it instead in plastic jerry cans from nearby Lake Kivu.

The Congolese rebel authorities in charge of this city didn't warn the residents to leave before the volcano erupted. Quite the opposite.

"They said there's no danger, you can stay, remain calm," Pierre tells us. And have the authorities done anything since? "Up to now, no," he says. "We're still waiting."

Days after the disaster, its victims still waiting for local outside help to be brought here. "If there's going to be any humanitarian aid," Joel tells us, "let it come quickly. Otherwise we're going to perish."

There is a little fruit for sale on the streets. But most people don't have much money. Down there, Eric tells us, his house and the college where he studied. "I'm left with what you see," he says.

The only person who might profit from this, a carpenter. The number of Goma's residents who've lost their houses hasn't yet been counted. But the stretch of lava mixed with bricks and metal roofing and still smoking from the heat is vast.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOND: Over across in Goma today, those scenes continue as tens of thousands more people return to the suburb of Katindo, a suburb that they fled only a few days ago. It's quite remarkable because the lava is still extremely hot. We walked across it ourselves and our shoes were almost burning by the time we had reached the other side.

What's also interesting is that just close to the lava, where houses have been collapsed but not buried in it, are children and old people searching through the scraps of metal for anything they can find to sell, things as small and insubstantial as nails and electric cord, old pots and pans. We even saw one little boy picking up a lock and key.

So there's a lot of desperation in that suburb. Everybody, almost everybody we saw asked us for something to eat and asked us where the relief agencies were and why they weren't bringing food into Goma now.

COSTELLO: Oh, it just breaks your heart. Is more humanitarian aid on the way? I mean how long do they have to wait?

BOND: There's some going to be distributed in Goma today, we're told. It's coming down from Kigali, where a lot of the relief agencies are based. That's the capital of Rwanda. And I think that's one reason why the relief agencies would have rather run a relief operation out of here and, in fact, expected these Congolese people to go into refugee camps where they could have provided them, perhaps, more easily with the sustenance they feel they need.

But the Congolese don't want to become refugees, as you said. They want to go home. They saw the miserable existence that the Hutu Rwandan refugees had here between '94 and '96 and they don't want that sort of fate. They don't want to become like them. And so they're insisting on going back and they're insisting on picking up their lives from the other side of the border -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And it's so dangerous for them, too. We heard of some sort of explosion at a gas station? BOND: Very dangerous, yes. We're told by witnesses that people went down to loot the gas station. They were actually getting hold of metal drums of petrol and some of them were opening them up, pouring the petrol out, unbelievably, just to loot the metal drum. And in doing so a spark ignited the petrol and the whole place went up and apparently as many as about 50 people may have died in that. That may have included even women and children. So that's the sort of desperation level you could see that people have reached. Yes, that's cut off.

Also, we saw a U.N. fire expert and he said that even though he has the expertise, he and his team couldn't reach that petrol station because it's encased in a flow of lava -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Catherine Bond reporting live for us in Goma, in the Congo.

Thank you very much, Catherine, for giving us those sad stories this morning.

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